The founder of a Texas Megachurca who resigned as the main shepherd last year after he admitted “inappropriate sexual behavior” in the 1980s has been accused of five criminal positions that involve a child, said the office of the Oklahoma attorney general on Wednesday.
Robert Morris, 63, who founded Gateway Church in Southlake, is accused of five positions of lascivious or indecent acts with a child, said the prosecutor’s office in a statement.
The abuse began in December 1982 when Morris was visiting the Hominy, Oklahoma, the victim’s home, the prosecutor’s office alleged. She was 21 years old and she was 12 years old at that time.
He continued for four years, the office said.
It was not clear if Morris had a lawyer in the criminal case announced on Wednesday.
The Gateway church in Southlake, which is located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, is one of the largest megachurs in the United States.
In June, after Cindy Clemishire appeared to accuse Morris of sexually abusing her as a child, Morris said she participated in “inappropriate sexual behavior with a young woman in a home where I stayed” in a statement to the evangelical news site The Christian Post.
“It was kisses and caresses and not sexual relations, but it was wrong,” he said.
Three days later, he resigned as the main shepherd, and the Church’s elderly Board said he had not been aware of the girl’s age or the duration of the alleged abuse.
Gateway sexual abuse scandal
“The previous understanding of the elderly was that the extramarital relationship of Morris, who had discussed many times during his ministry, was with” a lady “and not the abuse of a 12 -year -old boy,” said the Board at that time.
A voice email that went with the church administrative offices was not immediately returned after business hours on Wednesday night.
A large jury of multiple mountains returned the accusation against Morris, said the Office of the Attorney General. “There can be no tolerance for those who take advantage of children,” said Oklahoma Gentner Drummond attorney in the statement.
“This case is even more despicable because the alleged author was a pastor who exploded his position,” Drummond said. “The victim in this case has waited too many years to do justice.”
The accusation, which refers to the girl only as CC, alleges that Morris inappropriately touched the girl, starting around December 25, 1982, when she was 12 years old, and again on other occasions when she was 13 to 14 years old, even once when she rubbed on her. Also on one occasion the girl’s clothes were removed when she was 12, says the accusation.
Clemishire told NBC News last year that the abuse began when Morris, an evangelist, stayed in the family’s house on Christmas day.
Clemishire said Morris said: “Never tell anyone about this. Will ruin everything. “
In a written statement on Wednesday, she said she was grateful to the authorities for her work in the criminal case.
“After almost 43 years, the law has finally reached Robert Morris for the horrible crimes he committed against me as a child. Now, it’s time for the legal system to hold it, “he said.
In 2007, Clemishire hired Drummond to represent her in the search for the restitution of Morris to cover the cost of his advice. The negotiations collapsed when Clemishire was not willing to sign a non -dissemination agreement, he told NBC News.
Morris was a member of the Spiritual Advisory Committee of President Donald Trump during his first term.
After the accusations became public last year, Trump’s campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said Trump had not been aware of the accusations.
Morris was not in custody on Wednesday, said a spokesman for the Office of the Attorney General. The charges will be entered on Thursday in Osage County, and a judge will establish an initial appearance and bond.
“Oklahoma’s office will work with Morris prosecutors to be delivered,” said the Attorney General’s office.
The position of lascivious or indecent acts on a child is a punishable crime with up to 20 years in prison, the office said.
